• About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Sunday, July 20, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
Orthodox Times (en)
  • Home
  • Orthodoxy
    • Ecumenical Patriarchate
      • Dioceses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
      • Mount Athos
      • Archdiocese of America
      • Archdiocese of Australia
      • Church of Crete
    • Patriarchates
      • Patriarchate of Alexandria
      • Patriarchate of Antioch
      • Patriarchate of Moscow
      • Patriarchate of Serbia
      • Patriarchate of Romania
      • Patriarchate of Jerusalem
      • Patriarchate of Bulgaria
      • Patriarchate of Georgia
    • Churches
      • Church of Greece
      • Church of Cyprus
      • Church of Poland
      • Church of Albania
      • Church of Czech and Slovakia
      • Church of Ukraine
  • Politics
    • USA
    • Europe
    • Middle East
  • Society
    • Greek Diaspora
    • Culture
  • Spirituality
  • Christianity
  • Opinions
  • Home
  • Orthodoxy
    • Ecumenical Patriarchate
      • Dioceses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
      • Mount Athos
      • Archdiocese of America
      • Archdiocese of Australia
      • Church of Crete
    • Patriarchates
      • Patriarchate of Alexandria
      • Patriarchate of Antioch
      • Patriarchate of Moscow
      • Patriarchate of Serbia
      • Patriarchate of Romania
      • Patriarchate of Jerusalem
      • Patriarchate of Bulgaria
      • Patriarchate of Georgia
    • Churches
      • Church of Greece
      • Church of Cyprus
      • Church of Poland
      • Church of Albania
      • Church of Czech and Slovakia
      • Church of Ukraine
  • Politics
    • USA
    • Europe
    • Middle East
  • Society
    • Greek Diaspora
    • Culture
  • Spirituality
  • Christianity
  • Opinions
No Result
View All Result
Orthodox Times (en)
No Result
View All Result

Patriarch Kirill: “War cannot be holy, but…”

Oct 19, 2022 | 14:20
in Carousel Front Page, Patriarchate of Moscow
Patriarch Kirill: “War cannot be holy, but…”

WCC acting general secretary Fr Ioan Sauca meets patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church at the Patriarchal Residence in St Daniel’s Monastery, Moscow, 17 October 2022. Photo: Moscow Patriarchate

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Fr Ioan Sauca met on October 17 in Moscow, discussing how churches are called to be peacemakers.

Also attending the meeting, which took place at the Patriarchal Residence in St Daniel’s Monastery, were Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations; Archimandrite Philaret (Bulekov), DECR vice-chairman; Fr Mikhail Gundyaev, representative of the Moscow Patriarchate to the WCC and international organizations in Geneva; Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations; and Rev. Prof. Dr. Benjamin Simon, WCC program executive for Church Relations.

In addition to a public conversation, Patriarch Kirill and Fr Sauca had their own private audience to discuss Orthodox matters.

Patriarch Kirill welcomed the guests, saying: “I appreciate that you have come to Russia in these hard times to meet with me and my people and talk about the difficult international relations we live in and are confronted with today which naturally affects our inter-church relations, as well.”

Fr. Sauca thanked the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church for the meeting, and said: “The members of our fellowship are looking with great interest and hope to this visit,” explaining that the WCC delegation came to Moscow because of a mandate from the WCC central committee to visit WCC member churches with “bleeding wounds.” Those visits have included the Middle East—Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Palestine—and then Ukraine, and now Russia.

“You are aware of the concerns” that WCC member churches have with regard to the war between Russia and Ukraine, said Fr Sauca, “and of our statements that condemn the war and violence which we made in our governing bodies – the statements which were elaborated with the participation of delegates from the Russian Orthodox Church.”

Fr Sauca expressed his gratitude for previous correspondence with Patriarch Kirill.

“The reason for coming here is to see what we can do together to build bridges of peace and reconciliation and stop the bloodshed and the danger of nuclear conflagration,” Fr Sauca said. “I think it would very helpful now to make the same statement, saying clearly to the world what you told us, here, today: stop the bloodshed, stop the killing, stop the destruction of infrastructure, look for peace and reconciliation.”

This will help greatly the world and the Orthodox Church as well, Fr Sauca said to Patriarch Kirill, “and will make it clear what is your personal position to the war.”

The patriarch stated that he does not think that any church or Christian can have a supporting position to wars and killings and that churches “…are called to be peacemakers and to defend and protect life,” he said. “War cannot be holy.”

But when one has to defend himself and his life or to give his life for the lives of the others, things look different, stated Patriarch Kirill. “We have so many examples in our Christian history,” he said. “Yet, as peacemakers, we have to make all efforts to bring peace through dialogue and avoid any conflict or violence.”

Patriarch Kirill added that the times in which we live today are very difficult—yet these difficulties do not come from the churches, “but from the political context, and this context constitutes an extreme danger today,” he said.

Churches today “must not add fuel to the fire,” he added. “On the contrary, we must do everything within our power to put out the fire. In this regard, the World Council of Churches has a very important function.”

Source: oikoumene.org

World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca and patriarch Kirill. Photo: Moscow Patriarchate
Participants of the meeting, from left: Fr Mikhail Gundyaev, representative of the Moscow Patriarchate to the WCC and international organisations in Geneva; Rev. Prof. Dr Benjamin Simon, WCC programme executive for Church Relations; Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, WCC acting general secretary, Patriarch Kirill, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations; Archimandrite Philaret (Bulekov), DECR vice-chairman and Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations. Photo: Moscow Patriarchate
Tags: Patriarch Kirill of MoscowPatriarchate of Moscow

Follow OrthodoxTimes.com on Google News and learn all the news about Orthodoxy in Greece and worldwide.

All the latest developments in the Orthodox world, society and humankind, at the moment they happen, at OrthodoxTimes.com


Related Posts

Intrusion of Orthodox Churches in Patriarchate’s work in Africa to be discussed in Holy Synod
Patriarchate of Alexandria

Exclusive: The “fiasco” of Moscow Patriarchate in Africa and the responsibility of Alexandria administration

July 14, 2025
Metropolitan of Volokolamsk on the WCC: Subject to Political Pressure – The Position of the Russian Delegation
Patriarchate of Moscow

Metropolitan of Volokolamsk on the WCC: Subject to Political Pressure – The Position of the Russian Delegation

July 1, 2025
Patriarch of Kirill to Patriarch Theophilos: Let us uphold canonical Orthodoxy
Patriarchate of Moscow

Patriarch of Kirill to Patriarch Theophilos: Let us uphold canonical Orthodoxy

July 1, 2025
Patriarch of Moscow: Metropolitan Timothy devoted himself to working for good of Macedonian Church
Patriarchate of Moscow

Patriarch Kirill thanks Patriarch Daniel of Bulgaria for his support of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church

June 30, 2025
Patriarch of Moscow: Once again, the blood of Christians has been shed on the streets of ancient Damascus
Patriarchate of Moscow

Patriarch of Moscow: Once again, the blood of Christians has been shed on the streets of ancient Damascus

June 22, 2025
Patriarch of Moscow celebrates Pentecost Divine Liturgy at Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra
Patriarchate of Moscow

Patriarch of Moscow celebrates Pentecost Divine Liturgy at Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra

June 10, 2025
Load More
Next Post
The Ecumenical Patriarch in Cappadocia

The Ecumenical Patriarch in Cappadocia

Latest News

Jerusalem: Church leaders demand protection for religious sites after Gaza Church attack

Jerusalem: Church leaders demand protection for religious sites after Gaza Church attack

by NewsRoom
Jul 19, 2025 | 17:55
0

The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem express "profound solidarity" with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and...

Metropolitan Epifaniy met Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces

Metropolitan Epifaniy met Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces

by NewsRoom
Jul 19, 2025 | 16:51
0

Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine hosted Brigadier General Hennadii Shapovalov, Commander of the Ground Forces of the...

Patriarch of Antioch welcomed parliamentary delegation from Koura District

Patriarch of Antioch welcomed parliamentary delegation from Koura District

by NewsRoom
Jul 19, 2025 | 15:13
0

On July 18, 2025, Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East received the Members of Parliament for...

Orthodox and Catholic pilgrims led by Archbishop of America visited Pope Francis’s tomb

Orthodox and Catholic pilgrims led by Archbishop of America visited Pope Francis’s tomb

by NewsRoom
Jul 19, 2025 | 14:10
0

The Orthodox-Catholic pilgrimage “From Rome to New Rome” spent their last full day in the Eternal City. To start...

She comes carefully coached on Church-related issues

She comes carefully coached on Church-related issues

by NewsRoom
Jul 19, 2025 | 13:16
0

With everything going on, Kimberly Guilfoyle is set to visit Greece soon. In Athens, certain circles had attempted to...

Ontario MPP Jonathan Tsao visited Archbishop of Canada

Ontario MPP Jonathan Tsao visited Archbishop of Canada

by NewsRoom
Jul 19, 2025 | 11:05
0

Ontario Liberal MPP Jonathan Tsao paid a visit to Archbishop Sotirios at the offices of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese...

Newsletter

Sign up for our weekly newsletter



Quick Links

  • Orthodoxy
  • Politics
  • Society
  • Spirituality
  • Christianity
  • Opinions
  • History
  • Press Releases

Get Social

About Us

Advertise

Contact

Terms Of Use

© 2025 OrthodoxTimes.com
digital world media

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Orthodoxy
    • Ecumenical Patriarchate
      • Dioceses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate
      • Mount Athos
      • Archdiocese of America
      • Archdiocese of Australia
      • Church of Crete
    • Patriarchates
      • Patriarchate of Alexandria
      • Patriarchate of Antioch
      • Patriarchate of Moscow
      • Patriarchate of Serbia
      • Patriarchate of Romania
      • Patriarchate of Jerusalem
      • Patriarchate of Bulgaria
      • Patriarchate of Georgia
    • Churches
      • Church of Greece
      • Church of Cyprus
      • Church of Poland
      • Church of Albania
      • Church of Czech and Slovakia
      • Church of Ukraine
  • Politics
    • USA
    • Europe
    • Middle East
  • Society
    • Greek Diaspora
    • Culture
  • Spirituality
  • Christianity
  • Opinions
  • Greek Version

© 2023 OrthodoxTimes.com - All rights reserved.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptReject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT